HERITAGE
NATU R E THE CALL OF THE FOREST
Sky-high in the Andes, Mashpi Lodge of fers intrepid travel lers the opportunity to come face to face with the cloud forest ’s residents
The thing about the cloud forest is that it really is cloudy. It sounds obvious, but you fail to comprehend it until the clouds descend, turning greens to greys, then darker still. Monsters hide in the mist. A vine, thick as a wrist, slaps our windscreen. Leaves like a Pteranodon’s head loom, tumescent flowers sneer. Moss-choked trees paw at an ashen sky. It’s the forest redesigned by sci-fi artist HR Giger — an Ecuadorian space opera unfolding. We pull up at Mashpi Lodge and hurry
inside; the door seals shut with a satisfying ‘shhhp’, and not even bugs follow inside. The five-star property was envisioned as a cocoon — a warm nest in the centre of a 2,500-acre swathe of Ecuador’s Chocó forest. In reality, it’s more like a hermetically sealed IMAX with glass walls that show the forest’s screenplay. Every seat is premium; even the guestrooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, with remote- controlled blinds that lift like a safety curtain to reveal the action. Despite the dramatic opening sequence, it
quickly becomes apparent the reserve is far less menacing than it looks. On our first walk, expedition leader Nestor Paladines warns of vipers with a bite that causes necrosis and eventual death, before reassuring us that no visitor has ever been bitten — and, if they were, an army of doctors would arrive within
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minutes with the required antivenom. That evening, we spot an acid-green vine snake, but the colour is just for show: it has only mild venom that causes no real harm to humans. Still, thrills are available to those who seek
them. Vertiginous side trails get us acquainted not just with the many faces of the forest, but with its fingers and toes, too. I slip on mossy copal roots as I walk; up in the clouds, tree- bound philodendrons lower long tendrils that brush against my shoulders. This is untouched primary forest, which
makes up most of Mashpi. A timber company abandoned the area around 40 years ago, its logging efforts thwarted by the steep terrain. Yet, locals continued to hack away at the edges, selling wood and clearing space for pastures. Drawn by the area’s biodiversity, former mayor of Quito Roque Sevilla bought the land in 2001 with the intention of turning it into an attraction. He built the lodge without felling a single additional tree.
The guardians of the forest We get a different view of the primary forest from the Dragonfly, a cable-car ride that descends from cloud forest — technically, sections of rainforest found over 3,000ft above sea level — to rainforest. “Man hasn’t touched this place; every bit of space is taken up with
Clockwise from right: Guide Estuardo Lima hiking in the cloud forest; hummingbirds at Mashpi Lodge’s feeding stations; a meal served at Masphi Lodge
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